Another Falls
by C. de la Fere
Summary: A duel jedi vs sith.


**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to the great and all powerful George Lucas :)

**Author's note: **Ahhhh, to get back to star wars again! This feels so good that I've decided to try to start my huge long star wars fic that I never got around to writing… Love live Master Lucas!

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It started slowly. The rythematic pulsating of the force flowing through her as she prepared for battle, the dim glow of her twin blades and the soft hum of the sabers vibrating in her clenched fists. These were comforts well known to her. The jedi slowed her breathing, tamed her heart rate and scanned the darkness for her hidden foe. He was here - hidden in the shadows, eluding her senses as they fell methodically between every pillar, every crevice. Exhaling softly, she crouched defensivly against the wall at her back and waited. He would show himself eventually - and she would be ready.

He waited. Watching from a dark corner, he followed the slow movement of her violet blades. Listened to her breathing through the force. So she was on the defensive? Typical. And yet, there was something more. Something that lingered deeper within her, like an etah gnawing on the corpse of a long dead cannok. She wanted this battle, more than she would ever be willing to admit, and it would be his pleasure to indulge the Jedi's hunger. But first, he would play his own game; teasing the prey before the fight was always his favorite part. He would trick her senses, ensnare her mind with false or minor inklings of danger, then retreat back to the shadows before any blow could be dealt. Let her try to come to him, let her strike first - he would have her. This battle was more than a fight for victory; in this fight, she would fall. And in this, he always took the greatest satisfaction.

There! She inhaled sharply and pivoted on her heels to face what she had perceived as a sudden movement. But it had vanished. He was slippery; she knew this going in. The jedi had heard tales of how he played with her kind, teasing them with sudden mental jabs of hatred and intent - only to back away again. Some would fall so far off of their guard as to be taken completely by a sudden ambush - one that their heightened perceptions may have mistaken for yet another sharp bluff. She would not be fooled so easily though; this was a battle that she had to win, no matter the cost.

He advanced. Not having given up his game, however growing impatient as he fed off of the Jedi's hunger. The sith learn early to embrace and use the emotions of those that they fight as well as their own. Gather the hatred and thrust it back at the opponent - let them writhe in a taste of the emotions of the dark side. And this one was more full of intent than any he had taken on before. She would be a challenge to fight; a pleasure to fight; an opponent worthy of his skill. This he thought as his long pale fingers slipped slowly to his waist to grasp the sleek shell of his lightsatber.

The crimson beam had only just extended before the jedi when she leapt into an offensive stance and advanced upon the sith, who stood patiently, softly illuminated by the bloody glow of his single blade. She had not cowered before his mental attacks; just the opposite. Those that deny their emotions will lose; she would use them to win. Them and anything else that the sith threw at her.

Her initial attack had been quick, yet measured. He allowed a swift smile to brush his lips as the amusement of her premeditated offensive sunk in. It had been somewhat predictable - like the others that he had gone against. But there was more beneath her surface that he burned to force out of her. He countered her attack and then pushed his own. Their blades were untraceable blurs of light, clashing and swirling, enveloping the two foes in an intricate, flawless dance - both desperate to reach the same victory.

Her thoughts, which had only been preoccupied with this battle until now, started to betray her. Screams of his earlier victims seeped into her consciences, the tortures that he had subjected them to pressed themselves now onto her brain. This man would not be allowed to continue, to live. He would pay, she would win this.

It was at this point that he felt it strengthen within her. He opened himself to her - let her see into the heart of the dark side. She would feed off of him, his own lust for battle would feed her hunger in this match. The force pulsated quickly with the dark energy filling the room. The low hum of their lightsabers had turned into high pitched whines as the heat of battle wore on. His arms started to ache from the hard vibrations of the hilt as their sabers clashed with incredible fury, but it was working. She was loosing herself to him. He would win her. It was now only a matter of time.

She felt the intensity of his final attack, and matched it with her own furious resolve. Even the force shook and sent tremors of the fight to be felt far beyond this darkened room. She pressed on. Bolting aside to parry his final thrust, she sunk to her knees and buried both blades quickly into the sith's abdomen with a triumphant screech. Eyes ablaze, she remained motionless, staring at her impaled foe. She had won.

He let out a deep moan as the pain of her final move resonated within his body. The crimson blade fell to the ground, the sizzle of its contact with the cold ground cutting through the once more quiet hum of her lightsabers. As she withdrew her own blades from his broken body, the sith slumped to the ground and let out a satisfied sigh. "I have won, young jedi" he whispered.

She stared in disbelief. He laughed. Her anger at him only increased with this final show of defiance. A violet blur soon separated the sith's head from the rest of his now lifeless body. She stared at her hands. She had won the fight, but he was right. Her eyes darkened, as she knew every one like him would pay. Every one. He had won.

She walked out of the room leaving him behind her. The rest would pay. She was a Jedi no longer.


End file.
